Road Trip! I love the sound of that. I am taking an impromptu road trip north and turning it into a POTA Rove. I put my FTX1 up for trade on QTH.com and very quickly got a good trade offer for a Kenwood TS-590sg. I have always wanted one of those. A nice simple radio that is robust and easy to operate. I am going to add it to my field radio collection.
Some of you know I have a penchant for operating big radios at low power. I don’t have to worry about overheating and I like that the controls I use most are easy to get to. Most of the time my field work is either in my micro camper or at a nearby park picnic table. Weight is not an issue. I normally operate at about 20 watts. Sometimes as high as 30-35 depending on band conditions. I don’t need more than that.
My adventure starts Friday afternoon as I head towards Indiana. I’ll stop somewhere for the night around dark and then pick it up the next day. I plan on stopping at a park in Ohio and then a park in Indiana to add those two to my activation list. Michigan, another needed State is nearby and I hope to add that one to the list. From there I will generally head east and see what mischief I can get into.
Gear for the trip was my IC-7300 and LDG tuner. The antenna was a Chameleon 17’ stainless steel whip and a Chameleon CHA Hybrid Micro Balun sitting on top of a carbon fiber tripod. Counterpoise was a Chameleon wire with about 20-22’ used. Since this was a shoot and scoot trip I used FT8 with my Lenovo T14 Thinkpad. I brought a 100 amp/hr LiPo battery for the radio with a Bioenno BPP-160 for the laptop. I ran the radio from the backseat and the laptop on the center console from the drivers seat. Setup and teardown only took a few minutes. I collapsed the antenna and stuck it in the back seat when I was done. Slam, Bam, Thankyou Ma’am.
Friday night I stopped in Lexington KY, for the night and I was on the road by 6 AM the next morning. My fist stop was Lake Laramie State Park in Minster, OH. The GPS put me at the back of the park and I had a nice clearing by the lake to myself. It took a while to get my 15 contacts ( I always get spares). Band conditions were up and down like a roller coaster. After working out a few kinks to my setup, I packed up and headed toward Indiana. The trip was mostly county roads and highways. The scenery was beautiful passed through farmland with corn as far as the eye can see. I also passed through some Amish communities and was treated to traditional horse and buggies on the road.
My next Park was Ouabache State Park in Bluffton, IN. I found a little spot in a picnic area and set up shop. Again, the band conditions were not that good and I was glad I was running FT8. After completing my contacts, I packed up and headed for New Haven, IN were my trade was to take place. I arrived on time and after chatting with my trading partner we were both satisfied with the trade and once again I was on the road heading toward Michigan.
Coldwater State Park is a hunting preserve. When I got there, there was no infrastructure. Just a parking area and bulletin board. I was alone and in about an hour I was on the road again.
This was leg of the trip was a long one. I spent the night in Zanesville, OH and the next morning found me heading for southwestern Pennsylvania. The park I chose was Ryerson Station State Park. This park was nestled in the Allegheny Mountains with twisty-turney, uppy-downy roads both into and out of the area. There was no cell service for miles. It took me a little longer to get my contacts but I succeeded. From there is was a short hop to Picketts Fort State Park in Fairmont, West Virginia. This was a nice park and I found a shaded spot in a picnic area. This was a hot weekend and at some of the parks, I operated with the A/C running. At Picketts, I rolled down the windows.
Leaving Picketts, it was a long haul to Hungry Mother State Park in Marion Virginia. This park while still being in the mountains was more open and the contacts came easier. From there I drove to Statesville, North Carolina and spent the night. The next morning I was up early and drove 8 miles to Lake Norman State Park, my shortest hop. I found a spot down by the lake and made my contacts fairly quickly. Back on the road for the last 5 hour drive back to the home QTH.
I now have activated 17 States. I was a fast and fun trip but while my mind was willing, the body not so much. At 68 it’s probably time to start slowing down a bit. I am at the point where to activate a new state it is a one to two day drive just to get there.
So why is the FTX1 leaving? To start off with, it is not a bad radio. I have two other small radios, an IC-705 and a KX2. Between the FTX1 and IC-705, my preference is for the 705. It is more in line with the way I operate. Plus, as I have said earlier, I mostly use big radios so having 3 small radios is a bit superfluous. The FTX1 is off to a new home and I get another big radio for the field.
When I got home, I did hook the TS-590sg up and played around for a few minutes. The radio is easy to use and on CW the relays are super quiet. The controls are fairly intuitive and easy to use. I am going to bring this radio on my next outing. Over the next couple of days, I will go over it and set it up to my liking. Don’t forget to check out my video, and thanks for stopping by. 73 de Scott
KK4Z 